Ontological evaluation system of memes in traditional settlement cultural landscape based on knowledge mapping

The cultural landscapes of traditional Chinese settlements stand as tangible witnesses to historical transformations. They embed a variety of distinctive genes that have shaped regional development, together forming a unique body of knowledge known as Traditional Chinese Settlement Cultural Landscape Genes (TCSCLG). With the acceleration of urbanization, traditional settlements are encountering developmental crises, creating an urgent need for systematic identification of their cultural landscapes and the exploration of digital conservation pathways. From the perspective of ontological information theory, this study conceptualizes the diverse information attributes embedded within TCSCLG as specialized knowledge. It conducts cultural mining, structuring, and digital representation through the lens of knowledge management and organizational theory. By integrating the Object-Oriented Cultural Landscape Genes (OOCPLG) classification model into genes, this study establishes a dual-strand “ecological–social” TCSCLG structure to identify the cultural landscape characteristics of traditional settlements. Accordingly, a comprehensive TCSCLG ontological framework is developed, comprising 2 primary categories, 5 secondary categories, 11 tertiary categories, and 26 quaternary categories, accompanied by a visualized TCSCLG knowledge graph. Furthermore, by applying the Analytic Hierarchy Process and Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation (AHP–FCE), a multi-stakeholder assessment framework is constructed to evaluate inheritance outcomes and identify key cultural genes for targeted conservation. This approach not only enables full-element recognition of TCSCLG and accurately captures cultural gene transmission patterns but also supports the digital conservation and management of meme-based knowledge, as demonstrated through a case study of the Huayuan settlement in Fujian Province. The findings offer valuable guidance for cultural landscape development in other traditional settlements and provide a scientifically grounded, digitized methodology to support culturally distinctive and sustainable development.